[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 84 (Thursday, May 1, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23770-23772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-11244]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Second Record of Decision for a Dry Storage Container System for
the Management of Naval Spent Nuclear Fuel
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2) of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969; the Council on Environmental Quality
regulations implementing NEPA procedures, 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508; Chief
of Naval Operations Environmental and Natural Resources Program Manual,
OPNAV Instruction 5090.1B; and the Department of Energy NEPA
regulations (10 CFR Part 1021); the Department of the Navy and the
Department of Energy, as a Cooperating Agency, announce their decisions
regarding the location of temporary dry storage facilities for naval
spent nuclear fuel and special case waste at the Idaho National
Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The need for these
decisions was identified in the final Environmental Impact Statement
for a Container System for the Management of Naval Spent Nuclear Fuel
(EIS) dated November 1996. The Department of Energy (DOE), which
participated as a cooperating agency, formally adopted that final EIS
on October 9, 1996 (designated as DOE/EIS-0251). The need for the
decisions was also identified in the first Record of Decision (ROD) (62
FR 1095, January 8, 1997) for that EIS, in which the Department of the
Navy and the Department of Energy announced their decision regarding
selection of a dual-purpose canister system for the loading, storage,
transport, and possible disposal of naval spent nuclear fuel following
examination.
In this second ROD, the Navy and DOE announce their decision that
the naval spent nuclear fuel which is, or which will be, stored at the
Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) will be loaded into dual purpose
canisters at the Naval Reactors Facility (NRF). Both the ICPP and the
NRF are located on the INEEL in southeastern Idaho. The Navy and DOE
also announce the additional decision that all dual purpose canisters
loaded with naval spent nuclear fuel and special case waste will be
stored at a site adjacent to the Expended Core Facility (ECF) at the
NRF. The storage of these canisters containing naval spent nuclear fuel
at the NRF will occur regardless of whether the contained fuel had
previously been stored at the ICPP, or had been received at INEEL
before or after the dry storage facility at the NRF commenced
operations. This Record of Decision neither decides nor presumes that
naval special case waste will be shipped to a geologic repository or a
centralized interim storage facility as will naval spent nuclear fuel.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the final EIS and other information related to
this second Record of Decision or the first Record of Decision are
available in the public reading rooms and libraries identified in the
Navy's Federal Register notice that announced the availability of the
Final EIS (61 FR 59423, November 22, 1996). For further information on
the Navy's utilization of a dry storage container system for naval
spent nuclear fuel, or to receive a copy of the final EIS and the first
ROD, contact William Knoll, Department of the Navy, Code NAVSEA 08U,
2531 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22242-5160, (703)603-6126.
For information on the DOE's NEPA process, please contact Carol M.
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, D.C.
20585, (202)586-4600 or leave a message at 1-800-472-2756.
Introduction
More than 40% of the Navy's principal combatant warships are
nuclear powered. Since 1955, U.S. nuclear powered warships have steamed
safely more than one hundred ten million miles and accumulated over
4,800 reactor years of safe operation. Continued operation of the
Navy's nuclear powered warships remains a vital element of the Navy's
ability to fulfill its national security mission in support of our
nation's defense.
The Navy creates spent nuclear fuel through the operation of its
nuclear powered warships and training reactors. When a warship is
refueled for continued service or is defueled because it is being
inactivated, its spent nuclear fuel is removed at a shipyard.
Similarly, naval spent nuclear fuel is removed from afloat and land-
based training reactors when they are refueled or deactivated. In all
cases, the naval spent nuclear fuel is transported to the INEEL in
southeastern Idaho where it is examined at the Expended Core Facility
(ECF) located at the Naval Reactors Facility (NRF). This examination is
essential to verify the performance of current naval nuclear fuel and
to support the effort to design naval fuel with longer lifetimes. After
examination, the naval spent nuclear fuel is transferred to the Idaho
Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) for storage in water pools pending
final disposition. Currently, there are approximately 13 metric tons of
heavy metal of naval spent nuclear fuel at the INEEL. A total of
approximately 65 metric tons of heavy metal of naval spent nuclear fuel
will exist by the year 2035.
The Navy is committed to ensuring that post-examination naval spent
nuclear fuel is managed in a fashion which: (1) facilitates ultimate
safe shipment to a permanent geologic repository or centralized interim
storage facility outside the State of Idaho once one becomes available;
(2) protects the environment while being temporarily stored at the
INEEL; (3) is consistent with the DOE Programmatic Spent Nuclear Fuel
Management and INEL Environmental Restoration and Waste Management
Programs Final Environmental Impact Statement (April 1995) and Records
of Decision dated May 30, 1995 and February 28, 1996; and (4) complies
with the Settlement Agreement/Consent Order among the State of Idaho,
the DOE, and the Navy, which is discussed in this Record of Decision
under LEGAL AND REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS.
Until a geologic repository or centralized interim storage facility
[[Page 23771]]
outside the State of Idaho (discussed in Section 2.8.2 of the final
EIS) is available, the Navy is committed to a number of actions to
ensure uninterrupted operation of the Navy's nuclear powered fleet.
These actions include transfer of all naval spent nuclear fuel at the
INEEL out of wet storage facilities into dry storage, completion of a
Dry Cell expansion project at the ECF, completion of Hot Cell facility
upgrades at the ECF, construction of an ECF dry storage container
loading station, and performance of certain environmental restoration
work at the NRF. The high integrity and rugged nature of naval spent
nuclear fuel make it exceptionally well suited for safe transport,
storage, and ultimate disposal after service. It is expected that the
naval spent nuclear fuel will be stored at the INEEL until the time
that a geologic repository or centralized interim storage facility is
ready to accept it, and in any event not later than 2035.
To aid in determining the dry storage container system to be used
in managing naval spent nuclear fuel, the Department of the Navy, with
the Department of Energy (DOE) participating as a cooperating agency,
prepared the final Environmental Impact Statement for a Container
System for the Management of Naval Spent Nuclear Fuel (EIS) dated
November 1996 (61 FR 59435, November 22, 1996). (The Department of
Energy formally adopted that final EIS and designated it as DOE/EIS-
0251.) In the first Record of Decision (ROD)(62 FR 1095) for that EIS,
the Department of the Navy and the Department of Energy, as a
cooperating agency, announced their decision regarding selection of a
dual-purpose canister system for the loading, storage, transport, and
possible disposal of naval spent nuclear fuel following examination.
The EIS and the first ROD identified that a decision was still needed
on the location(s) for the loading, into dual purpose canisters, of
that naval spent nuclear fuel which is, or which will be, stored at the
Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP). Those documents further stated
that a decision was also needed on the location(s) for temporary
storage of the dual purpose canisters loaded with naval spent nuclear
fuel and special case waste.
Decisions
The Navy and DOE have determined the location where naval spent
nuclear fuel which is, or which will be, stored at the ICPP will be
loaded into dual purpose canisters, and the location where all dual
purpose canisters loaded with naval spent nuclear fuel and special case
waste will be temporarily stored prior to the naval spent nuclear fuel
being shipped to a permanent geologic repository or centralized interim
storage facility outside of the State of Idaho when one becomes
available. In this second Record of Decision, the Navy and DOE announce
the decision to load the naval spent nuclear fuel which is, or which
will be, stored at the ICPP, into dual purpose canisters at the Naval
Reactors Facility (NRF). Both the ICPP and the NRF are located on the
INEEL in southeastern Idaho. The Navy and DOE also announce the
additional decision that all dual purpose canisters loaded with naval
spent nuclear fuel and special case waste will be stored at a developed
area on the INEEL site to the east of the Expended Core Facility (ECF)
at the NRF. This storage of canisters loaded with naval spent nuclear
fuel at the NRF will occur regardless of whether the fuel had
previously been stored at the ICPP, or had been received at INEEL
before or after the dry storage facility at the NRF commenced
operations. This location offers several important advantages,
including immediate proximity to existing fuel handling facilities,
rail access, and trained personnel. In addition, use of the site
adjacent to ECF eliminates the need to develop previously undisturbed
areas. Development of these undisturbed sites would incur increased
adverse environmental impacts while offering no technical or other
advantage. This Record of Decision neither decides nor presumes that
naval special case waste will be shipped to a geologic repository or a
centralized interim storage facility as will naval spent nuclear fuel.
When evaluating options for the above decisions, the Navy and DOE
considered existing facilities at INEEL and currently undeveloped
locations potentially not above the Snake River Aquifer. The technical
feasibility of building a dry storage facility within INEEL at a point
removed from above the Snake River Plain Aquifer was considered in the
final EIS. Only two potential locations were identified, one along the
west boundary of INEEL and the other in the northwest corner of the
INEEL reservation. However, analyses in the final EIS indicate that
neither of these locations is hydrologically removed from above the
Snake River Plain and both would be closer to seismic faults than
existing INEEL facilities. The State of Idaho, in its comments on the
Final Environmental Impact Statement for a Container System for the
Management of Naval Spent Nuclear Fuel, agreed that the seismic
disadvantages of these locations would, in all probability, eliminate
them from further consideration.
In addition, both of these locations are technically less desirable
than locations at the NRF and the ICPP. A facility located at either of
these remote sites would be closer to the site boundaries
(approximately 1 mile from the INEEL boundary at its closest point) and
the local population than existing INEEL facilities. Environmental
impacts would result from construction of a road and possibly a rail
spur to the location as well as construction of facilities at the
location. An evaluation of these areas indicates that the development
of a dry storage facility at either of these remote locations might
have a greater impact on Native American cultural resources and
ecological resources than providing for dry storage at a previously
developed site adjacent to the ECF at the NRF or at an ICPP site.
A number of factors were considered in evaluating potential sites
at the NRF and the ICPP for loading of naval spent nuclear fuel into
canisters and the storage of the loaded canisters. These factors
included: (1) The effort required for the Navy to achieve compliance
with quality assurance requirements, such as verification of individual
spent fuel unit identity and condition, recording of each spent fuel
unit's permanent location in a storage canister, and the control of the
resultant records; (2) minimization of the number of organizations
needing to interact in connection with obtaining certifications for
transportation of canisters loaded with naval spent nuclear fuel and
for the acceptability of those loaded canisters for placement in a
permanent geologic repository or a centralized interim storage facility
outside the State of Idaho when one becomes available; (3) simplicity
of procedures and facilities involved in loading and storage of the
canisters; (4) operational flexibility, since facilities which would be
built at ECF to accommodate the return of naval spent nuclear fuel from
the ICPP for loading into dry storage canisters would be more easily
used to support possible future emergent naval spent nuclear fuel
loading or unloading/reloading needs than facilities which had been
built at the ICPP; (5) the potential for delays and emergent problems
caused by performing dry storage canister loadings of both naval and
non-naval spent nuclear fuel at a single facility; (6) the amount of
handling of the naval spent nuclear fuel required; (7) cost; (8) the
time needed to load the existing inventory of naval spent nuclear fuel
into dry storage canisters; (9) environmental
[[Page 23772]]
consequences, which were similar and small for both the NRF and the
ICPP sites, thus both would be environmentally preferred to the remote
undeveloped sites considered; and (10) the expected condition of the
naval spent nuclear fuel which would be handled in the loading process.
The evaluations of these factors supported the selection of the NRF as
the location for loading the naval spent nuclear fuel from the ICPP and
for storage of loaded canisters.
Mitigation
The DOE and the Navy have orders and regulations for conduct of
spent nuclear fuel management operations and have adopted stringent
controls for minimizing occupational and public radiation exposure. The
policy of these programs is to reduce radiation exposures to as low as
reasonably achievable (ALARA). Singly and collectively, these measures
minimize potentially significant adverse environmental impacts from
spent nuclear fuel management activities, including those associated
with dry storage. The Navy and the DOE have not identified a need for
additional mitigation measures.
Legal and Regulatory Considerations
The first Record of Decision for the DOE Programmatic Spent Nuclear
Fuel Management and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Environmental
Restoration and Waste Management Programs Final Environmental Impact
Statement was published on May 30, 1995 (60 FR 28680). On October 17,
1995, the Federal District Court entered a Consent Order that resolved
all issues related to the EIS raised by the State of Idaho and the
Governor of Idaho. The Consent Order incorporated as requirements all
of the terms and conditions of the parties' Settlement Agreement,
including a reduction in the number of spent nuclear fuel shipments
coming to the State of Idaho.
The settlement agreement among the State of Idaho, the U.S. Navy,
and the DOE included obligations to request funding for a dry storage
container loading station and to commence moving DOE spent nuclear fuel
currently in water pool storage into dry storage by July 1, 2003.
Proposed actions by the Navy will commence placing naval spent nuclear
fuel into dry storage on a schedule consistent with that required of
the DOE in the Settlement Agreement/Consent Order and will be in full
compliance with the requirements of that agreement.
No on-site land use restrictions due to Native American treaty
rights would exist for any of the alternatives. The INEEL site does not
lie within any of the land boundaries established by the Fort Bridger
Treaty.
The Department of the Navy and DOE are mandated to comply with
various laws, regulations and other requirements applicable to the
management of naval spent nuclear fuel. The Department of the Navy
Final Environmental Impact Statement for a Container System for the
Management of Naval Spent Nuclear Fuel, in Chapter 8, identifies the
major applicable laws and regulations. The selected dry storage loading
and temporary storage locations provide for compliance with these and
other applicable laws and regulations governing actions within the
Navy's and DOE's responsibilities.
Public Involvement
On October 24, 1994, the DOE published a Notice of Intent in the
Federal Register (59 FR 53442) to prepare an EIS for a multi-purpose
canister system for the management of civilian spent nuclear fuel. As
part of the public scoping process, the scope of the EIS for the multi-
purpose canister system was broadened to include naval spent nuclear
fuel. This determination was included in the Implementation Plan whose
availability was announced in the Federal Register on August 30, 1995
(60 FR 45147). However, DOE halted its proposal to fabricate and deploy
a multi-purpose canister based system and ceased preparation of that
EIS.
On December 7, 1995 the Department of the Navy published a notice
in the Federal Register (60 FR 62828) assuming the lead responsibility
for an Environmental Impact Statement evaluating container systems for
the management of naval spent nuclear fuel. The Department of the Navy
assumed the lead responsibility from the DOE and narrowed the focus of
the EIS to include only naval spent nuclear fuel. Despite the narrowing
of the focus to only naval spent nuclear fuel and the change in lead
agency, the range of container alternatives being considered did not
change. Thus, the EIS did not require another scoping process. The DOE
participated as a cooperating agency rather than the lead agency in the
preparation of the EIS.
On May 1, 1996, the Navy distributed the Draft EIS. The Navy's
Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS was published in the Federal
Register on May 14, 1996 along with the locations and dates of the
public hearings. The Draft EIS was widely distributed to public
officials, tribal officials, and state agencies in the areas of
potential interest, as well as to individuals requesting the document.
The public comment period for the EIS was originally scheduled to be 45
days, but a 15-day extension was granted based on a request from the
State of Nevada. During the public comment period, six public hearings
were held and both written and oral comments were received. Oral and
written comments were received from 51 parties, representing: federal,
state, and local agencies and officials; special interest groups; and
individuals. No substantive changes to the Draft EIS were needed as a
result of public comments, although several clarifications and
editorial changes were made in response to comments.
A new Chapter 11 was added to the Final Environmental Impact
Statement in which each comment was reprinted in its entirety, followed
immediately by individual responses to each of the major points. The
Environmental Protection Agency formally announced the availability of
the final EIS on November 22, 1996 (61 FR 59435). The Navy also
announced the availability of the final EIS on November 22, 1996 (61 FR
59423).
Approval
This Record of Decision constitutes the Navy's and The Department
Of Energy's final action with regard to a location where the naval
spent nuclear fuel which is, or which will be, stored at the Idaho
Chemical Processing Plant will be loaded into dual purpose canisters.
It also constitutes final action for a location for the temporary dry
storage of all dual purpose canisters containing naval spent nuclear
fuel and special case waste.
Issued in Washington, D.C. this 16th day of April 1997.
Richard Danzig,
Acting Secretary of the Navy.
Alvin L. Alm,
Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management, U.S. Department of
Energy.
[FR Doc. 97-11244 Filed 4-30-97; 8:45 am]
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